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Board Foot for Dummies

noun

pronunciation: boʊrd_fʊt

What does Board Foot really mean?

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Hey there! So the term "board foot" is a way to measure the amount of wood in a piece of lumber. It's used to figure out how much wood is in a piece, which is really helpful for things like building projects or furniture making. One board foot is equal to one square foot of wood that's one inch thick.

Let me explain it a bit more. Say you have a piece of wood that's 12 inches wide, 1 inch thick, and 12 feet long. That piece of wood would be considered to have 12 board feet, because it's 1 inch thick and it covers 12 square feet of space.

Another way to think about it is like a pizza. If you have a pizza that's 12 inches wide and 12 inches long, that's like one square foot of pizza. Now, if that pizza is one inch thick, that's like a board foot of pizza. It's just a way to measure how much wood is in a piece of lumber so you can figure out how much you need for your project.

I hope that helps you understand what "board foot" means! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Revised and Fact checked by Jack Taylor on 2023-11-16 00:59:49

Board Foot In a sentece

Learn how to use Board Foot inside a sentece

  • A piece of wood that measures 1 foot by 1 foot by 1 inch thick is equal to 1 board foot.
  • If a table requires 5 board feet of wood, that means it needs enough wood to cover 5 square feet of area and be 1 inch thick.
  • When buying lumber, you might ask for 20 board feet, which would be enough wood to cover 20 square feet of area and be 1 inch thick.
  • A carpenter may need to calculate the total board feet of wood needed to build a deck, which would be the total area of the deck in square feet multiplied by the thickness of the wood in inches.
  • If a shelf requires 2 board feet of wood, you would need a piece of wood that measures 1 foot by 2 feet by 1 inch thick, or any other combination that equals 2 board feet.